Vancouveria hexandra

INSIDE OUT FLOWER
Family: Berberidaceae
Pronounced: vang-koo-VEH-ree-uh heks-AN-druh

 

Quick Jumps

Growing Guide
Rainy Side Notes

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GROWING GUIDE

 

 

Origin:
Oregon, Washington and California.
Plant Group:
Perennials.
Hardiness:
Sunset zones: 4-6, 14-17.
USDA zones: 5-8.
Heat zones: 8-5.
Mature size:
Height: 16 inches (40 cm).
Width: 16 inches (40 cm).
Flowering period:
April-June.
Flowering attributes:
Panicles of white flowers with petals reflexed make it look like a flower turned inside-out.
Leaf attributes:
Light green, 2 ternate leaves.
Growth habit:
Creeping.
Light:
Partial shade.
Soil:
Humus rich, well-drained soil.
Feeding:
Side dressing of compost in spring or fall.
Propagation Methods:
Sow seed as soon as ripe.
Divisions in spring.

 

Rainy Side Notes

I love this little, ground-covering native perennial, Vancouveria hexandra, which is a close relative of epimediums.

In my garden, it gradually spreads around its allotted space by sending out underground rhizomes. Where it shares a bed, it tickles and nudges a tiarella species (Foam flower). With the vancouverias gaining an upperhand, I can see the flowers of the Tiarella bravely poking above the leaves of the native perennial.

This plant thrives in the shaded east side of my home under a Red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) and a Fatsia shrub. It snuggles up underneath a non native bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis) and a native evergreen huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum).

The inside-out flower was named after Captain George Vancouver, and its epithet, hexandra, means six stamens. The flowers resemble the blossoms of our native shooting star, Dodecatheon or a Cyclamen. The Inside-out flower grows in woodlands dominated by Douglas fir, White oak, Western hemlock, Silver fir, Noble fir and Western red cedar, as well as mixed evergreen and broadleaf deciduous forests.

The Yurok tribe from Northwestern California used the leaves as a cough medicine. Modern medicinal uses include sinus congestion, chronic rhinitis, and hay fever.